New Systems: Augments

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Research and Development is getting a face lift with the announcement of Augments. Mepps has also been answering Questions from the community and you can find those Q&As below.

The modern superhero and supervillain is always evolving, seeking out and utilizing the latest magic, metagenes, and tech available for advantage in the field. For years in DCUO, this has meant a focus on the Research & Development of combat equipment mods powered by Exobit fragments left over from Lex Luthor's desperate gambit to prepare the world for Brainiac. This technology has served the world well, but a new breakthrough is on the horizon that leading scientists and engineers think will make equipment mods obsolete. Why modify gear, when the technology may soon exist to modify the body?

Introducing Augments. Designed to supplant and replace the current R&D mod system, Augments are similar to but go beyond equipment mods. Instead of socketing into gear like mods (and then needing to be moved and replaced frequently), Augments socket into your character's body directly, rank up like Artifacts, and provide a wide array of new bonuses and stats.

MICHAEL'S TAKE: "Out with the old and in with the new! We are replacing equipment mods with a new system called Augments. Augments take the best elements of equipment mods and combine them with original DCUO lore and new technology. This creates an exciting new system where you can customize your character in a convenient, powerful, and interesting way." - Michael Mann, DC Universe Online Lead Systems Designer

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT AUGMENTS:

  • This new system will replace R&D equipment mods.
  • Augments will socket directly into your character's body in a new addition to the character UI.
  • Augments will provide stats and additional bonuses for your characters.
  • Augments will rank up over time, similar to Artifacts, so that as you become more powerful, so too can your Augments.
  • Legacy R&D items will transition smoothly into the new system in a variety ways, depending on the item.

The new AUGMENTS system will launch free for all players beginning this August on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Questions and Answers from Mepps

Q: Couple of questions on Augments..
1) Will the gathering feats no longer be required going forward?
2) How will this effect rewards for lower level content?

A: 1) All current feats will still be obtainable. Some feats may end up getting autocompleted for everyone if they are truly obsolete. Gathering will still be a thing. 
2) We expect rewards will be adjusted where appropriate. 

We will have much more information to share about the Augment system and the transition when we are closer to launching on the public test server.

Q: Question: Will this retroactively go through the game, or just Titans DLC forward?

A: Augments will be retroactive through the whole game. A new player will get introduced to the Augment system (and not the equipment mod system) at a low level.

Q: Regarding Augments, will we use exobits/bytes to upgrade them?

A: Exobits/bytes will be one of the ways to rank up Augments.

Q: So gear mods will disappear and the augment system will take its place.

Has anyone yet realized this will mean a significant nerf to our characters until we earn our stats back? Artifacts was an addition on every level; but this is laid out on a foundation of subtraction.

A: You will not lose stats transitioning to Augments.